Like many horrors throughout history, they were rooted in radical ideas aimed at implementing some utopian vision.
These are the best of times, so let's all stop complaining.
The long-planned tunnel will bring water from the Sacramento River to the state's dry southern regions.
California is facing a projected deficit of $68 billion, a larger amount than the entire annual budget of the state of Florida.
Blame lingering pandemic-era restrictions that make it harder for people to find a dog or cat they'd like to adopt.
Should a federal government that is nearly $34 trillion in debt and can't manage basic operations be micromanaging fast-food business purchases?
When everyone owns something, no one does.
Higher prices created by a $20 minimum wage for burger joints will lead to fewer customers, reduced profits, fewer restaurants, and a loss of jobs.
Instead of looking like a future president, Newsom comes off as just another small man in a big office.
State officials seem to delight in how much money they "invest" in different priorities, without worrying too much about outcomes.
He insists that he's not running for president, but his vetoes of the fringiest measures suggest otherwise.
We should all be skeptical that the same government that can't balance a budget can revamp the dominant form of modern communications and boost young people's self-esteem.
We already have a party that's committed to progressive ideals, do we really need another?
The state's population stagnation is likely to continue for decades as younger people flee for opportunities elsewhere.
It's vital to recognize the many unforeseen consequences of school closures, business lockdowns, and mask mandates.
Republican-controlled Huntington Beach has sued the state government to stop enforcement of state housing mandates.
Instead, Donald Trump is proposing a 10-percent automatic tariff on all imports, a trade policy even worse than Biden's.
Expect more strikes, fewer government services, and more tax increases to pay for pension obligations.
Better policing could solve the police-recruiting crisis.
Another exercise in nonsense by state lawmakers in California.
Ethics allegations have been raised against Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Sonia Sotomayor. Both sides have retreated into whataboutism.
Instead, try making it easier to build more housing!
The median resident of Southern California takes zero transit trips annually, and only 2 percent of the region's population frequently uses mass transit.
It's wrong to use human beings as pawns in an apparent political stunt.
In California, officials are pushing pension funds to divest from fossil fuels, firearms manufacturers, and tobacco companies. Red states are retaliating. This is madness.
California lawmakers and President Joe Biden seem determined to help fast-food workers by eliminating their jobs.
Often, it can be exactly the opposite.
Start by looking at the government policies that have made it worse.
After getting lucky for his first few years in office, Newsom now faces his first major budgetary crisis. How he responds will show a lot about his leadership skills.
If you don't like San Francisco, that's fine, but don't tell tall tales about it.
The transit systems we're supposed to hop aboard ultimately operate as jobs programs for government workers.
Contra the famous quotation from Oliver Wendell Holmes, there's nothing particularly civilized about the way our governments spend the money we provide.
At least until all the gasoline is gone.
Teachers unions, police unions, and prison guard unions have inordinate control over public policy, and California is suffering the consequences.
Officials used the crisis to impose policies they already supported but couldn't get through the normal legislative process, like bans on evictions.
Americans shouldn't have to fight to the death to defend their foes' right to speak, but they should at least stop trying to censor, shame, shun and destroy each other.
Police dogs seriously injured 186 people within the last two years—more than batons or tasers did, according to the ACLU.
It doesn't make sense to create laws that restrict activities enjoyed by the general populace to protect a tiny minority that will undoubtedly partake in those activities anyway.
It's a threat to our fundamental rights, but courts refuse to change their approach.
People can never be made incorruptible. We can, however, design governmental systems filled with checks and balances that limit the temptations.
Let's start by doing away with the idea that officers are engaged in a war for our streets rather than involved in a civilian operation that requires community support and trust.
As artificial intelligence advances, how worried should we be about the rise of the machines?
Progressives might not be coming for your existing stove, but they are trying to stop any new installations.
In drought or flood, bad environmental policy is making Californians miserable.
California's economy is growing despite Gov. Gavin Newsom's policies, not because of them.
Unfortunately, the reality is something far more sinister.
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